• Orly Efros, Aya Berman, Gili Kenet, Aharon Lubetsky, Alon Doron, Gadi Shlomai, Eyal Klang, Shelly Soffer, Noam Barda, and Avshalom Leibowitz.
• National Hemophilia Center and Thrombosis & Hemostasis Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel; School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Electronic address: Orly.efros@sheba.gov.il.
• Am. J. Med. 2024 Feb 1; 137 (2): 147153.e2147-153.e2.

BackgroundDirect oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are associated with a prolongation of the prothrombin time and an increased international normalized ratio (INR). The clinical significance of these changes is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between an elevated INR on admission and in-hospital death and long-term survival in patients treated with DOACs.MethodsData were retrospectively retrieved from records of hospitalized patients at the Sheba Medical Center between November 2008 and July 2023. Patients were selected based on DOAC treatment, coagulation profile, and INR test done within 48 hours of hospitalization. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality and mortality in the year following hospitalization.ResultsThe study included 11,399 hospitalized patients treated with DOACs. Patients with elevated INR had a 180% higher risk of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio 2.80; 95% confidence interval, 2.30-3.39) and a 57% increased risk of death during the following year (adjusted hazard ratio 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-1.71). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses for each DOAC.ConclusionsAn elevated INR on admission is associated with a higher risk for in-hospital death and increased risk for mortality during the first year following hospitalization in hospitalized patients treated with DOACs. This highlights that elevated INR levels in patients on DOACs should not be dismissed as laboratory variations due to DOAC treatment, as they may serve as a prognostic marker.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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